My Best Life

Peter Kolakovic

Join Peter for deep, soul-stirring conversations with spiritual teachers, yogis, healers, conscious creators and everyday people as we explore the path to alignment, joy, and purpose. In every episode, Peter asks his guests one defining question: "What does it truly mean to live your best life?" From inner healing to intentional manifestation, discover diverse perspectives on how to create a life that feels good on the inside, not just one that looks good on the outside.

  1. 2d ago

    #24 - Graham Hawley - Breaking bad: why small changes lead to big results

    You can know every health tip on the internet and still feel tired, stuck, and frustrated. That’s the gap we tackle with health coach, educator, and Small Steps, Big Results author Graham Hawley: the difference between “knowing what to do” and building sustainable health habits you can keep when work, family, and stress hit. We dig into why real transformation often comes from small, consistent actions that reshape your default routines over time.  We break down Graham’s five pillars of health and how they work together: nutrition, sleep, movement, alcohol awareness, and stress management. You’ll hear practical guidance on shifting from ultra-processed foods toward real whole foods, navigating misleading packaging, and why constant snacking can keep insulin high and weight loss harder. We also talk intermittent fasting as a tool, not a punishment, plus why inflammation sits near the root of many modern chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and fatty liver disease.  Sleep gets its own spotlight with a simple circadian rhythm approach: hydrate before caffeine, start the day gently, and build an evening wind-down that protects deep sleep and REM sleep. We also cover movement that doesn’t feel like another obligation, including walking more, tracking steps, walking after meals to support blood sugar control, and adding basic strength training to protect muscle as you age. If alcohol has become the default way to unwind, Graham shares how to get more intentional without pretending social life doesn’t exist.  If you want practical, science-backed health advice that fits real life, hit play. Subscribe to My Best Life, share this with a friend who’s trying to reset their habits, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show.

    #24 - Graham Hawley - Breaking bad: why small changes lead to big results

  2. 6d ago

    #23 - [Solo] - Sex, desire and self-mastery: exploring the ancient wisdom of brahmacharya

    Sexual desire can feel like a force that drives the whole day, especially in a world where porn, novelty, and instant gratification are always one click away. In this solo conversation, we take a grounded look at brahmacharya, an ancient yogic practice that’s often reduced to “semen retention,” and we ask a more useful question: what happens when we stop treating desire as something we must discharge and start treating it as something we can understand, contain, and direct? We unpack the real lesson hidden inside restraint: the space between impulse and action. That space is where freedom shows up. We talk about why brahmacharya is not about shaming sex, denying the body, or chasing spiritual status, and why “conservation” is different from suppression. We also connect the practice to modern psychology keywords like impulse control, self-regulation, habit formation, attention, and delayed gratification, plus the cultural reality of endless stimulation that trains us to escape boredom and discomfort. We also get honest about the science claims around semen retention, dopamine addiction, and testosterone. Instead of hype or pseudoscience, we keep what’s solid: learning to tolerate an urge, noticing what you are really seeking (intimacy, validation, relief, connection), and redirecting energy into creativity, relationships, deep work, and presence. If you want a mature approach to sexuality that’s neither indulgence nor repression, this is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s curious, and leave a review with the biggest impulse you’re learning to pause before you act.

    #23 - [Solo] - Sex, desire and self-mastery: exploring the ancient wisdom of brahmacharya

  3. Aug 11

    #22 - Martha Wright - Coming home to yourself: ancient wisdom for modern life

    Your mind might be brilliant, but it cannot do the whole job of living. When success on paper still feels like emptiness, numbness, or constant striving, it’s often a signal that something deeper is asking to be heard: the body, the heart, and the parts of us we’ve pushed into the shadows. I’m joined by Martha Wright, a shamanic medicine woman, certified breathwork teacher, Reiki Master and art historian who works at the crossroads of ancient wisdom and modern somatic healing.  We start with Carl Jung and the shadow self, then get practical about what shadow work actually is: the stored wounds, shame, repressed grief, and even repressed pleasure that quietly steer our choices until we bring them into the light. Martha shares her own winding path into shamanic practice, what it means to serve as a bridge between ordinary reality and spirit, and how Celtic spirituality invites a different kind of faith, one rooted in land, seasons, story, and direct spiritual agency rather than rigid dogma.  From there we go into the modern crisis of disconnection: consumerism, convenience culture, chronic distraction, and why nature stops feeling like a relationship and starts feeling like scenery. Martha explains “the body keeps the score” through a somatic lens, including why anxiety and physical symptoms can show up when life finally becomes safe enough to release old trauma. We close with tools you can use now, like coherence breathing for nervous system regulation, and a powerful look at keening, an ancient Celtic grief ritual that helps communities let sorrow move instead of calcify.  If you want more embodiment, real emotional healing, and grounded spirituality that doesn’t bypass pain, you’ll find a lot here. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re sitting with. https://www.marthamw.com/ https://www.instagram.com/marthamedicinewoman/ Love these conversations? Support My Best Life and help keep inspiring stories like this coming.

    #22 - Martha Wright - Coming home to yourself: ancient wisdom for modern life

  4. Aug 4

    #21 - Dr. Lynn Banis - Picking up the pieces: rebuilding your life after losing a loved one

    Grief is everywhere, but most of us still feel lost the moment it becomes personal. I sit down with Dr. Lynn Bannis, a grief and resilience mentor, to talk about what happens when loss stacks up fast and life suddenly stops making sense. Lynn lived it: she lost her mother, her brother, and then her husband, and she explains why that kind of compound grief can feel like wave after wave with no shoreline in sight.  We get specific about the real symptoms of grieving that people rarely name out loud: loneliness, decision fatigue, and the brain fog that comes when your nervous system drops into fight-or-flight. Lynn shares what helped her survive those early months, including staying connected to family, creating new holiday traditions, and giving kids a place to grieve instead of pretending they are “too young.” We also talk about how to support a friend who is grieving without awkward clichés, fixer energy, or disappearing after the funeral, plus simple practical help that actually fits real life.  From there, we move into resilience and recovery, and Lynn challenges the idea that resilience means “bouncing back.” After a major loss, the old life is gone, so the work becomes rebuilding identity, values, and purpose. We dig into the stories we tell ourselves that keep us stuck, the role of community in healing, and how gratitude can return in a way that feels honest. If you’re navigating widowhood, bereavement, or supporting someone through loss, this conversation offers grounded hope and usable tools.  If this resonates, subscribe to My Best Life, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find this support. What’s one thing you wish others understood about grief? https://lynnbanis.substack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/banislynn/ Love these conversations? Support My Best Life and help keep inspiring stories like this coming.

    #21 - Dr. Lynn Banis - Picking up the pieces: rebuilding your life after losing a loved one

  5. Jul 28

    #20 - Justin Shaw - Comic relief: why laughter is the best medicine

    Laughter is supposed to be light, but Justin Shaw shows us how it can be life-saving. He built his identity on getting laughs, first as a kid trying to survive an emotionally empty home, then as a young stand-up chasing the rush of the room. But when the same need for relief collides with drugs and alcohol, the “high” starts taking more than it gives. Justin shares the moment that finally scared him straight: blacking out after a set and waking up with no memory of what he did, how he got there, or whether he even belonged on stage anymore. From there, we dig into sobriety and what real healing looks like when detox isn’t enough. Justin talks openly about rehab, relapse, grief, and the way fear-based beliefs can intensify pain instead of easing it, especially as he faces his mother’s terminal illness and death. That breaking point pushes him toward meditation, yoga, and a more direct experience of spirituality that isn’t about rules, but about awareness, compassion, and choice. Justin calls his awakening a “bliss attack,” a sober near-life experience that reframes consciousness and inspires his book Sourcery 101: 13 Rungs To A Higher Elevation Of Consciousness. We unpack practical concepts like shadow work, surrender, emotional alchemy, and why guided meditation can be the best first step if you don’t know where to start. If you’re interested in addiction recovery, spiritual awakening, emotional healing, and the surprising connection between laughter and mental health, this conversation gives you both story and tools. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. https://www.awakenthesourcerer.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sourcerer_13/ Love these conversations? Support My Best Life and help keep inspiring stories like this coming.

    #20 - Justin Shaw - Comic relief: why laughter is the best medicine

  6. Jul 21

    #19 - Jon Paul Crimi - A breath of fresh air: how conscious breathing can transform your life

    If you have ever wondered how someone crawls out of addiction and then keeps healing long after sobriety, Jon Paul Crimi's story will stay with you. Jon Paul grew up outside Boston feeling out of place and “too sensitive,” and he learned early to question his own emotions. Alcohol became a shortcut to connection, then a way to cope with grief, trauma, and a life that kept escalating, even surviving a stabbing that still did not force a change. We talk through the turning points that finally made recovery real: alopecia, painkillers, depression, suicidal thoughts, and the moment a therapist told him to try AA. From there, Jon Paul shares something many people never hear about recovery: getting sober is not the end of transformation, it is the beginning. His next breakthrough came through breathwork, sparked by unexpected mentors and experiences that pulled him away from chasing external validation and toward helping others reconnect to themselves. We go deep on circular breathwork and why conscious breathing can create such profound change. Jon Paul explains breathwork as nervous system work, how stored emotions can surface physically, what sensations beginners should expect, and why “I thought I did all the work” often really means “I did it in my head.” We also cover misconceptions in the modern breathwork movement, the balance between science and spirituality, and what it looks like to build a practice that actually changes your day-to-day life. If you want practical insight on breathwork, trauma release, meditation, addiction recovery, and self-love that does not stay theoretical, press play. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs a reset, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: what would change if you treated your next breath like a fresh start? https://breathewithjp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jonpaulcrimi/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoo2rpt8qhu_-U1jj76BVDA Love these conversations? Support My Best Life and help keep inspiring stories like this coming.

    #19 - Jon Paul Crimi - A breath of fresh air: how conscious breathing can transform your life

  7. Jul 14

    #18 - Saw K. Myint - Buddhist life lessons: the wisdom of impermanence

    Change is happening whether we like it or not and a lot of our anxiety comes from trying to freeze life in place. I sit down with Saw K. Myint to talk about a simple Buddhist truth that becomes surprisingly hard to live: nothing is permanent except change. Together we unpack impermanence as something you can actually observe in your own body and mind, not just a nice idea, and how that one shift can help you recover faster when life becomes challenging. Saw shares her personal story from Myanmar to Australia, how early suffering shaped her, and why becoming a helper did not automatically create peace. We dig into what it means to feel “enough,” why forgiveness is tied to letting go, and what detachment looks like for normal people who still grieve, remember, and get triggered. We also talk about metta, compassion as a practice you try to live, not just words you repeat, and how gratitude gets sharper when you remember life can change at any moment. Then we bridge Buddhist principles with modern psychology and science-backed mindfulness, including why we so easily mistake thoughts for reality and how daily attention training can improve emotional regulation. If you’re skeptical, Saw welcomes questions and keeps it practical, including where to start if you’re dealing with anxiety or depression. If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s struggling with change, and leave a review so more people can find it. https://www.facebook.com/likesawkmyint Love these conversations? Support My Best Life and help keep inspiring stories like this coming.

    #18 - Saw K. Myint - Buddhist life lessons: the wisdom of impermanence

  8. Jul 7

    #17 - Andre Crabb - The path of least resistance: engineering lasting inner change

    It's been said that one person’s magic is another person’s engineering - and that’s exactly the bridge we build here. I’m joined by Andre Crabb, a former Silicon Valley software engineer who left tech after deep misalignment and health decline, then rebuilt his life around somatic healing and energy work. Andre brings a rare mix of grounded logic and lived experience, translating big spiritual ideas like oneness into something you can actually work with: stress, tension, and “resistance” in the body. We dig into what resistance really is, why brute-forcing change can backfire, and how trauma often isn’t the event itself but what gets trapped inside the nervous system afterward. Andre explains the biology behind stored survival stress, including why animals naturally shake it off and what happens when humans don’t. From there, we go surprisingly practical with physics, using the laws of thermodynamics to frame emotional stress as energy that can be transferred and transmuted rather than ignored away, and entropy as a reminder that inner chaos grows when we never act on the system. Andre also breaks down Dr David Hawkins’ levels of consciousness, why courage is a turning point, and how raising your baseline starts with releasing what keeps you stuck. We then get specific about Mindworks, Andre’s step-by-step, self-guided practice that looks like meditation from the outside but focuses on agency: what to do with awareness so change actually happens. If you’re a high achiever dealing with burnout, overthinking, people pleasing, weak boundaries, or a noisy mind, you’ll leave with a clearer map and a more grounded way to start. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What’s one place in your life where you feel the most resistance right now? https://www.tophuman.co/ https://www.youtube.com/@tophuman https://www.instagram.com/top.human.energy/ https://www.facebook.com/andre.crabb Love these conversations? Support My Best Life and help keep inspiring stories like this coming.

    #17 - Andre Crabb - The path of least resistance: engineering lasting inner change
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About

Join Peter for deep, soul-stirring conversations with spiritual teachers, yogis, healers, conscious creators and everyday people as we explore the path to alignment, joy, and purpose. In every episode, Peter asks his guests one defining question: "What does it truly mean to live your best life?" From inner healing to intentional manifestation, discover diverse perspectives on how to create a life that feels good on the inside, not just one that looks good on the outside.

Information

  • Creator
    Peter Kolakovic
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 My Best Life
  • Show Website
    My Best Life